Deborah Schrag, MD, MPH

Deborah Schrag, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston, and an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, commented on the findings for The ASCO Post.

She said the inferior survival of patients with right-sided tumors “is almost certainly because of the molecular alterations associated with tumors on the right side as compared to the left. There is good evidence that the molecular pathology of right- and left-sided tumors is distinct.”

Outside of this trial, added Dr. Schrag, an association has been observed between right-sided tumors and worse prognosis in the population at large, “so we can be quite confident that this is not a unique finding to CALGB 80405.”

“While it is useful to be aware of this association, it still will be more valuable if we can leverage this insight to develop specific strategies tailored to the tumor subtype,” she commented. ■

Disclosure: Dr. Schrag reported no potential conflicts of interest.